What is Fu Ling?

Fu Ling is an herbal remedy that has been used in Traditional Chinese Medicine for over 2,000 years. It’s also widely used in other Asian countries, including Korea, Thailand and Japan. In Western culture, Fu Ling is commonly known as Poria Cocos fungus. Fu Ling is a type of mushroom fungus that grows around the base of certain types of pine trees. 1 Fu Ling is harvested across China, including in the Anhui, Hubei, Henan provinces. 2

Fu Ling is a mushroom style of fungus that grows in bulky blong or oval shapes. It has an outer skin that ranges from whitish-grey to dark brown with an internal skin that’s white or pink. Fu Ling can grow in a wide range of sizes from 10-30 cm or larger. 2

Fu Ling benefits come from its content of organic compounds that include polysaccharides and triterpenes among several other substances. Traditional, Fu Ling uses have been for restoring and revitalizing due to loss of energy, fatigue, stress and lack of sleep. 3

Fu Ling also has natural diuretic and anti-inflammatory properties. 1 Research has shown promising Fu Ling benefits for anticancer activity, including anti-leukemia activity, in particular. 3